There was so much potential set up from the first movie. You had Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his two defining roles as an actor (the other being the Terminator from...well, Terminator) and a dark-edged fantasy world that managed to be dark without getting into the gritty grimdark we would see later on. It was clearly very adult-oriented and wasn't afraid push the boundaries of what was acceptable in 1980's cinema, even if it seems absolutely quaint by the standards of Hollywood today.
...by the way, did anyone ever give that Thulsa Doom minion his jar of jam back?
